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TSA wants police at checkpoints after LAX shooting

+ captionFILE - In this Nov. 1, 2013 file photo provided to the Associated Press, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, police officers stand near a weapon at the Los Angeles International Airport after a gunman opened fire in the terminal, killing one person and wounding several others. The Transportation Security Administration recommended Wednesday March 26, 2014, that airports post armed law enforcement officers at security checkpoints and ticket counters during peak hours. The recommendation was one of 14 determined after a nationwide review of security at airports prompted by the shooting at the airport last fall. (AP Photo, File)

LOS ANGELES — The Transportation Security Administration recommended Wednesday that armed law enforcement officers be posted at airport security checkpoints and ticket counters during peak hours after a review of last year's fatal shooting at Los Angeles International Airport.
The 25-page...

LOS ANGELES — The Transportation Security Administration recommended Wednesday that armed law enforcement officers be posted at airport security checkpoints and ticket counters during peak hours after a review of last year's fatal shooting at Los Angeles International Airport.

The 25-page report to Congress obtained by The Associated Press makes 14 recommendations that do not carry a price tag and are somewhat dependent on local authorities who provide airport security.

While airport security has been beefed up since 9/11, the shooting exposed communication problems and gaps in police patrols that left an LAX terminal without an armed officer for nearly 3 1/2 minutes as a gunman targeted TSA officers with a rifle Nov. 1.

The AP has reported that the two armed airport police officers assigned to Terminal 3 were on break that morning and hadn't notified dispatchers as required. Months earlier, LAX had changed staffing plans to have officers roam terminals instead of staffing checkpoints such as the one the gunman approached.

TSA conducted the review of nearly 450 airports nationwide after Officer Gerardo Hernandez was killed in the agency's first line-of-duty death. Two officers and a passenger were wounded. Paul Ciancia, 24, a Pennsville, N.J., native, has pleaded not guilty to 11 federal charges, including murder of a federal officer.

The review found that most TSA officers are concerned for their safety and want better security.

Report recommendations include requiring TSA employees, who are unarmed, to train for an active shooter incident. It specifically discarded the notion of creating an armed unit of TSA officers.

TSA Administrator John Pistole has said he doesn't believe more guns at checkpoints are the solution, but the union representing 45,000 TSA officers said the recommendations strengthen their position to create an armed unit of TSA officers.

While the report is being presented to Congress, there is no specific action lawmakers must take.

Airports are run by local operators, and because each airport is different, each is responsible for creating its own security plan that must be approved by TSA. The agency has general guidelines that airport plans must meet, and an airport can be fined for violations.

"The current patchwork of local law enforcement agencies across the country inevitably leaves gaps in security, as we saw at LAX," said J. David Cox Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "Only an armed law enforcement unit within TSA can ensure the constant and consistent presence of sufficient law enforcement resources needed in the immediate area of the checkpoints and other key locations in order to prevent another tragedy like the one that occurred at LAX."

The TSA also recommended installing more panic alarms, testing them weekly, and having them linked to security cameras.

The AP reported that although a TSA officer reported hitting a panic button, there was no evidence it happened. The TSA review found that about 2 percent of panic buttons in airports nationwide were not working.

At LAX, some panic buttons weren't working and dispatchers couldn't tell where the shooting was happening because a TSA manager who picked up an emergency phone quickly fled from the gunman. The phone system didn't identify the location.

With officers out of the terminal, an airline contractor called police dispatch directly on his cellphone, alerting officers nearly a minute and a half after the shooting began.

Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX, released its own review last week finding the emergency response was hindered by communication and coordination problems. The 83-page report spotlighted flaws in various airport divisions and systems but didn't single out individuals who were responsible.

It made no mention of the officers who were out of position or the policy change that had police officers roam the airport instead of staffing checkpoints full-time.

LAX Police Chief Patrick Gannon has said flexibility is important and he doesn't want to revisit stationing officers at checkpoints. But Wednesday, he said in a statement that he read TSA's report and law enforcement officials at LAX agree with its recommendations.

He said airport police are already highly visible in and around the security checkpoints and ticketing areas.

"Considering peak times change from time to time, and from terminal to terminal, airport police will closely monitor the changes and provide uniformed police presence and high visibility as necessary," Gannon said.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, whose district includes LAX, said the TSA's recommendations were a good first step in addressing concerns — specifically the lack of armed law enforcement at security checkpoints. Waters has called the airport's emergency response an embarrassment.

A congressional hearing on the review is scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles.